And Paul Marie is in the 18 and Luis Felipe is not. Again, NOT player for player reference - just coaching decision.
If Cummings keeps making bonehead mistakes then Jungwirth will get his chance. Jungwirth was our defensive player of the year for 2017. He was one of our two or three best players the first half of 2018 before fading hard, which most of the rest of the squad did too. He bleeds for the shirt unlike godoy and vako.
He being the best defensive player for 2017 is not a universally held opinion. He may have won the award from the team, but that doesn't mean he was actually the best defensive player. I also don't care that much about romanticism in sports. How you characterize him and how he actually views his own situation are likely quite different. He had a job to do, he did it poorly and now he isn't playing as a result. If he isn't going to play, then he should be with another team and better or up and coming player should be in his place.
I can’t recall who was all that great on defense in 2017. All I remember was the disgrace and/or humiliation of a 5-0 playoff loss.
Not resigning Muma was a massive error on the part of Fioranelli. I don't know if that will be a widely accepted view, but that is my view.
With Bernardez long ball up field on the last play, that is how we made the playoffs in 2017. He may have had some errors but he was also valuable and truly missed last season. I know he was older and probably finished as a player but I think he could have helped at least part time last season. Again not as a starter but maybe as a backup. Either way it’s too bad he had to get old.
I don't think he would have made much of a difference, honestly. I think Bernardez was among the best and probably the best central defender in MLS at times during his career, but he was struggling heavily in 2017 and likely would have further struggled in 2018. Granted, I'd rather see Bernardez struggle than Jungwirth, but not picking up his option for 2018 was a pretty justifiable decision.
He is younger and faster but ..... I've always believed he was old since his debut game in 2008 against Chicago!
Just think how much you're going to be missing when you don't have Shea Salinas to kick around anymore.
Nope. Muma was past his prime and was not a full time starter. The mistake was in the signing of his replacements who have similar issues (not quick enough in tight spaces).
You really don’t think he could have contributed more than Ockford or affolter? He was a different caliber of player than either of those guys
No. As @QuakeAttack said, Muma was past it, and the error was in signing the replacments, not in failing to resign a player who was already too old. Flo and Ockford both provide the kind of leadership we need on the backline. (In sharp contradastinction to Kashia and Cummings.) Ockford, sadly, is much too slow to be a starter in MLS. His positioning is excellent, his reading the game is very good, and his ability to break up opposition plays is great, except that we don't retain possesion most of the time that he pokes the ball away. Flo is much better at those things and he's much faster. I still want us to sign replacments for Cummings and Kashia. Again, Kashia is good, but he's not fast enough. Ockford is every bit as good and much cheaper. We need some replacement CDs, and in a hurry. (I've been singing this song for years, and we still haven't fixed this critical issue.) We need to be thinking on a whole different level. Not: "Who can we get that's available and cheap." But rather: "What type of player do we need?" "Let's go get that guy." Go Quakes!! - Mark
OK that quote triggered me for some reason. Sorry for the rant. Espinoza is the best player we've added in recent times. If he wasn't on loan without option to buy he would be an expensive DP. This kinda negates the point doesn't it? Anyway it's kind of a straw man argument because I don't think anyone thought we had to add 'big name' players to fight for a playoff spot. The Quakes have always competed for a playoff spot (with the exception of 2018). 3 out of 10 times we actually made the playoffs. We are right back to pre 2018 form (actually I think the team is the best it's ever been since 2012 with the huge help of MA, Espinoza, and Vega). I can understand people are happy with this because if you make the playoffs anything can happen. But 3 out of 10 isn't good and we all want to do better than that. Not only would I (and I'm sure others) like to do better than fight for 7th place I would like to enjoy watching talented players who represent the Quakes who are considered best in the league. Isn't that part of the fun - knowing your favorite player on your favorite team is the best there is? This year is great because we get to see Wondo breaking records. Wondo is the best at what he does. But I want more - I want to do better than 7th place. Wondo wants more to - he wants to lift a cup as captain. I'm sure Wondo would in no way object to us signing top notch DP's. Because at this point nobody is going to take away is armband and adding the best players helps him achieve his goal of lifting the cup. That's all anybody wants.
lol i have the same trigger. that guy also used to also post about how we shouldn't have let dom go ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That should be the goal of the management team, get the best players. Not, let’s save some $ and get a no name from some far off land because it sounds exotic (looking @Innocent). Just get the players that want to come here and can make a positive difference and can contribute to the team to make it better.
I guess I am on the fence. I think that when a team is a world powerhouse they shouldn't be paying much attention to where the players come from, though when there is a local star I think overpaying them to stay at home is good business. It is good for the fans to bond with a few local heroes. But that isn't the Quakes. The Quakes _have_ the local players. And they I hope they try hard to maintain the local feel. I preferentially want players signed who will not push the local guys off the roster, unless the local guy is the worst remaining player. But I don't want to see management go push Lima to the bench when they could improve another position with the same money. I accept that the other viewpoint is just as valid, but this is mine. I know this is the Flo thread, and he isn't a local. But it is the overall sentiment I am addressing. As a Yankee fan, I can tell you that winning soured for me when it became a bunch of super-high-paid a$$holes from other orgs. I need some local-to-the-team connection.
"FEATURE: Florian Jungwirth seized his opportunity, playing key role in team success" (SJEarthquakes.com - Thursday, 7/25/19) (ISIPhotos.com) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
This is nice — Flo got ranked #4 in the current race for defender of the year! The race for the 2019 MLS Defender of the Year is a close one!Who do you think deserves the title? 🤔 https://t.co/IiwBhezjHJ pic.twitter.com/NUdPQFaO8L— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 4, 2019